Loveland High School wind symphony heads to state

Loveland High School will be the only school in Thompson School District sending a band to the Colorado Bandmaster's Association State Finals.

The wind symphony is one of four high school bands from the northern region advancing to state April 14-15 at Colorado State University. The northern region, one of five in Colorado, competed March 5 at the Northern Colorado Bandmaster's Association Regional Festival at Fossil Ridge High School in Fort Collins.

The Loveland High School wind symphony earned a superior rating, or the top score possible, and the symphonic band, another top band at the school, earned an excellent rating. Bands are rated superior, excellent, good, fair and poor for their 20-minute performances.

The top 25 bands from all five regions go on to state. Up to 16 bands compete in each region.

Kyle Freesen, director of bands and the music department chairman at Loveland, attributes the wind symphony's success to the amount of emotion the students were able to put into their playing.

"I'm really excited they've earned the right to go to state," Freesen said. "It's been really great to see some of our younger members really step up."

The 50 students in the wind symphony were selected through an audition process based on their musicianship and work ethic, Freesen said.

The wind symphony will be performing at 10 a.m. on April 14, playing "A Movement for Rosa," by Mark Camphouse, and "Dusk," by Steven Bryant.

"They put in pain and triumph to be able to express the pain and triumph of Rosa Park's story," Freesen said.

This year, Freesen's band students also have been selected for three honor bands.

Twelve students participated in the Colorado State University Honor Band, which held a concert in February. Eighteen students participated in the Northern Colorado Honor Band that combines students from Poudre and Thompson school districts.

The All-State Honor Band, which has five students from Loveland, will be performing April 5. Nine hundred students auditioned for 100 seats.

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